On his first official engagement following the passing of his mother, King Charles cracked a joke about “temperamental” pens today.
While in Scotland, the king and the Queen Consort Camilla proclaimed Dunfermline a new city before continuing on to Edinburgh for more ceremonies.
This afternoon, before the pair departed Fife, they signed a guest book where the King seemed to make a lighthearted allusion to his previous viral pen-fighting incidents on official engagements.
He seemed to be chuckling as he handed his wife the writing instrument and said, “These things are so temperamental.”
The King made the jest after he was overheard last month complaining about pens that leak “every stinking time” while signing a visitor’s book.
Before attending a memorial ceremony at St. Anne’s Cathedral, the King was at Royal Hillsborough Castle in the vicinity of Belfast. The 73-year-old began signing a book by saying, “Oh goodness, I’ve put the incorrect date down,” and then handed the pen to his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, who pointed out he had also written the wrong date earlier in the day.
He screamed, “Oh God, I hate this,” as he stood up, before looking down at his finger, which seemed to be smeared with the fountain pen’s ink.
The pen was then shown being held out in Camilla’s right hand as she said, “Oh look, it’s going everywhere, hang on,” on camera.
She seemed to wash her fingers with her other hand as an assistant took it away.
The King can be heard in the distance exclaiming, “I can’t abide this blasted monster! What they do, every stinking time,” he said, wiping his fingers on a paper napkin before stepping away from the camera. Then Camilla signed the book with a separate pen.
It came after the amusing images of Charles at St. James’s Palace, when he urgently signaled for an assistant to remove a pen box off his desk since it was in the way of his signing the historic Proclamation establishing him as King.
On his first official outing with his wife after the passing of the Queen, King Charles III paid a poignant homage to his late mother today.
As part of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee festivities, His Majesty and the Queen Consort Camilla officially bestowed city status to Dunfermline. The king claimed the occasion will “gladden my lovely mother’s heart, as it undoubtedly gladdens mine.”
Community organizations, including a local pipe band and schoolchildren, welcomed Charles and Camilla to Fife. The King and his wife made a point of speaking to the masses and shaking their hands.
Catherine Gillian-Adams, 91, one of those who waited to see Charles, expressed her ‘thrilled to bits’ness that her hometown had become a metropolis.
Many people flocked to Dunfermline to witness the royal couple and other dignitaries, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was welcomed with both cheers and jeers. But when Charles, dressed in a blue plaid kilt, appeared, there was cheering and screams of “God Save the King.”
The King officially commemorated the granting of Dunfermline city status and delivered a brief speech during an official council meeting that was held in the City Chambers while His Majesty and his wife were present. Since the conclusion of royal mourning last Tuesday, this is their first united appearance in public.
The King expressed his “pleasure” at the news that the town will become a city at the event. He expressed the hope that everyone will have a “true feeling of pride in this new chapter.”
“That would, I know, make my loving mother smile, as it does mine smile,” he remarked. I can only express my deepest congratulations and best wishes for the future as you celebrate being Scotland’s newest city.
In May of this year, it was revealed that Dunfermline was one of the eight towns receiving City Status to honor the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. He said, “I was happy.” Giving this honor to a location made renowned by its own lengthy and illustrious history and the crucial role it has played in the life of our nation could not be a more appropriate way to honor my beloved mother’s incredible life of service.
Now, of course, we assemble to honor this momentous anniversary as well as the life of Her Late Majesty, whose abiding love for Scotland served as one of her pillars.
Following the ceremony, they paid a visit to Dunfermline Abbey to commemorate its 950th birthday. They will also have a meeting with members of Historic Scotland to discuss the history of the region and the preservation of the property. Robert The Bruce and other Scottish royalty are interred at the Abbey.
The royal couple departed Dunfermline city chambers and shook hands with spectators gathered outside as they made their way to Dunfermline Abbey, where they visited Robert the Bruce’s final resting place.
Locals were thrilled that the village was suddenly becoming into a metropolis, according to Bill Henderson, 71, who was among the thousands who gathered to welcome the King and Queen Consort.
It’s a historic occasion, he stated while talking about it.
The Queen has been my queen for my whole life since I was born soon before she ascended to the throne. It’s just thrilling.
And particularly a King Charles returning to Dunfermline when King Charles I was born here, regardless of how long ago it was.
It’s an honor for Dunfermline to host his first visit as the next King, teacher Carol Williams, 52, said.
As part of the late monarch’s Platinum Jubilee festivities, eight locations have been granted city status.
The application for the title was made by Dunfermline, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe and has a rich history as a former royal seat.
On Monday, the King and his wife will also hold a banquet to honor British South Asian communities at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Between 200 and 300 people from the UK who have British Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Bhutanese, or Maldivian ancestry will attend the meeting.
The occasion will honor the contributions that several members of these groups have made to the National Health Service, as well as to the media, business, education, and armed forces.
Charles will also conduct his first investiture ceremony as King for a select number of locals.
The couple’s visit began at the City Chambers, where the line of people wanting to see them was so long and deep that it was difficult to count them all.
Loud applause erupted when Charles, dressed in the Old Stewart Tartan, and Camilla, dressed in a Mr. Roy favorite tartan costume, shook hands with the official line-up, which included Ms. Sturgeon and a local pipe band.
The party enters the Chamber Room with the Lord Lieutenant of Fife, Robert Balfour, to witness the King officially designating Dunfermline as a City.
The King’s decision to attend the event “so early in his reign” was a “honor,” according to Councillor Jim Leishman, the Provost of Fife.
The historic silk factory in Dunfermline produced the silks that Her Late Majesty used for her wedding and coronation robes, Ms. Sturgeon emphasized.
She said, “It is a wonderful honor indeed that Your Majesties are here to recognize this additional milestone for this very particular community at the dawn of a new age.
Before the event, Alister Jack MP, the Secretary of State for Scotland, said: “It is a great honor for Dunfermline to be given city status and will be a major boost to the city and its people.” The fact that this is the King and Queen’s first formal visit after entering royal mourning is also a great honor. The late Queen personally made the decision to choose Dunfermline. The King has really ridden into action since then and kept the date.
There are several Union flags and a lengthy line of people who are quite enthusiastic.
The Platinum Jubilee festivities include the naming of eight locations as cities.
As part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition, the former towns submitted applications for city status and were required to promote their royal connections as well as their local identities and communities.
Although Dunfermline is one of the fastest growing towns in Europe, its application for city status was based on its historical significance as an old royal seat of authority.
The King seemed to make a lighthearted allusion to his previous viral penfights on official engagements as they signed the visitor’s book before they departed.
He seemed to be chuckling as he handed his wife the writing instrument and said, “These things are so temperamental.”
In recent weeks, the King has twice been shown on video fumbling with his pen as he signs important paperwork.
When the pair arrived outside, they went straight for the applauding throng. One of the first individuals they saw there was George Findlay, a 79-year-old Perth resident.
When I was a member of the Royal Navy, his mother oversaw my work for a while, he said. He’s a decent guy, and I believe he’ll make a fine king. I’m really thrilled that he took the time to meet everyone.
Lesley McAuliffe, 60, of Dunfermline, showed Camilla her jacket that was lined with the Union Flag.
She said, “She is a fantastic Queen Consort.”
Charlie McLaughlen and Marian both talked with the king.
I believe he will embody all of the Queen’s greatest traits and offer something unique to the job, according to Mrs. McLaughlen.
It was wonderful to meet them.
To celebrate Dunfermline Abbey’s 950th birthday, the pair took a little stroll down to the abbey. When it celebrated its 900th anniversary, the Queen came.
Their Majesties visited with officials from Historic Scotland to discuss site preservation and local history.
After killing Macbeth in 1057, King Malcolm III erected Dunfermline as the new capital.
He wed Margaret of Wessex, a woman subsequently declared a saint and responsible for bringing Benedictine monks to Scotland.
King Robert the Bruce and other Scottish kings and queens were interred at Dunfermline Abbey in antiquity.
Before meeting with community groups and supporters, the pair made a point of visiting his tomb and discussing the abbey’s past.
They addressed more of the audience outside, including Catherine Gellan-Adams’ 91, whose chic hat the Queen Consort appreciated.
We are here here because we support the monarchy, but apart from that, I believe he is a wise man, and his wife is also a decent woman, she said.
I assured her that I believed she would keep him on the straight and narrow. She chuckled and said, “Yes, I would. ”
When Elspeth Duncan, 75, of Dunfermline saw the new King and Queen Consort, she said that she was “overjoyed.”
She said, “That doesn’t surprise me,” in response to the boos of Nicola Sturgeon. She doesn’t realize how many people despise her since she believes she is the Queen of Scotland. Thank you; we are really pleased with the marriage and the Royal Family we have.
It happened amid rumors that Liz Truss had instructed King Charles III to skip the Cop27 climate meeting.
According to reports, the king had spoken of giving a statement during the November summit of global leaders in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
But at a meeting at Buckingham Palace last month, the Prime Minister, who is also unable to attend, voiced opposition to his proposals.
It happens in the midst of mounting rumors that the government intends to scale down or possibly abandon its goal of having “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. The King reportedly requested guidance, which Miss Truss allegedly provided. The arrangement that the King would not attend was made with great respect and goodwill, according to the Palace.
However, the King, who as Prince of Wales had a long history of trying to lessen the consequences of climate change, is likely to have been disappointed by the decision. He has a history of meddling in government affairs as the heir to the throne, most notably criticizing the government’s decision to transfer undocumented immigrants to Rwanda.
Friends urged him not to change his stance on global warming after the passing of his mother.
However, because of his constitutional duty to maintain political neutrality, the king was forced to admit in his speech to the country after the passing of the Queen that “it will no longer be feasible to spend so much time to the… topics that I care so passionately.”
King Charles had said he would go to Cop27, the 27th UN Climate Change Conference, before taking the throne last month. Cop27 will take place from November 6 to November 18.
Although the King has previously gone, according to a source who spoke to the Daily Mail, there have never been any solid arrangements for him to come this year, despite talk to the contrary. The Palace sought counsel since the British Government authorizes all international travel.
There have reportedly been “unanimous” decisions that the King should not make his first official trip abroad during Cop27 since there are so many requests for him to be sent abroad.
Sources cited his message to the country after his mother passed away, in which he emphasized that despite his changed circumstances, he is “ever cognizant” of his constitutional responsibilities.
It is thought that the environment would continue to be crucial to his job as sovereign, as the Mail previously noted.
In his opening remarks at Cop21 in 2015, he cited climate change as the biggest danger confronting mankind.
The King repeated Winston Churchill in a forceful address by pushing “the few” to take action to rescue the earth and pleading with international leaders to contribute “trillions, not billions, of cash.”
He also spoke at the Cop26 opening ceremony in Glasgow last year, urging global leaders to address climate change on a “warlike basis.” It is claimed that while not attending Cop27 in person, he is still committed to making his presence known, keeping the door open for a virtual appearance.
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP, expressed his hope that the King would be permitted to visit Egypt in a tweet, noting that his presence would give the British delegation “real authority” as a “globally regarded voice” on environmental issues.
Miss Truss is said to be more skeptical of the green agenda while Boris Johnson has become an avid supporter of net zero.
According to a government source, “The Palace and the Government weighed individually before deciding together that he is not going to be attending Cop.”